There was a clue to the identity of this
Mister X, this man shrouded in anonymity. The clue is the spectacles worn
beneath his stocking mask. It might have been better had he removed his
spectacles first, don’t you think?

According to The Tally Ho, Number 2 has
called for an increase in vigilance, and in the article headed “Security of The
Community” he goes on to talk about “the enemies in our midst.” So who are
these unseen enemies? Well one was Number 12 of Administration. He colluded
with Number 6 to stop the educational experiment of Speedlearn, to destroy the
General. And Number 6 is The Village’s “public enemy,” amongst other
malcontents.

Number 6 in one of his election speeches
said that his prime objective is security of the community. In the article
Number 2 speaks of security, but it’s the security of the Community which must
be protected, not the community itself! Unless he means if the security is
broken, then the people are then left unprotected.

“We must constantly be on our guard against
enemies in our midst,” although they don’t necessarily know where their enemies
might be, or who they are. Might not these enemies within, who Number 2 refers
to, be Jammers? After all the actions taken by Number 6 were the acts of a
Jammer, non-existent plots and schemes thought up simply to play on Number 2’s
paranoia.

Number 2 warns the community to be on
constant look out against traitors, who behind their back, seek to undermine and
destroy them. Well both the shopkeeper and the waiter at the café in ‘Hammer
Into Anvil’ took those words to heart. And in their readiness to report any
unusual activity to Number 2 made it easy for Number 6 to play them as pawns in
his game against Number 2. He accused the Supervisor-Number 26 as being part of
a conspiracy, and had him removed from his position. And his assistant, Number
14, he accused of being a traitor, in working with Number 6 behind his back! If
only Number 2 had trusted his assistant more, allowed him to work more closely
with him, he would have seen what a loyal ally Number 14 was, or could have
been, against Number 6.

“No mercy would be shown to those who,
against the interests of the community, sabotage “our great achievements.” That
reads like the out-going Number 2 of ‘It’s Your Funeral.’ But it didn’t work
for the General and Speedlearn, those “achievements” were well and truly
sabotaged by Number 6, aided by Number 12 of course.

So Number 2 is going to teach those who
think they can get away with their plots and conspiracies, a short sharp
lesson. Could this possibly be building up to the mass reprisals for the
assassination of the out-going Number 2 of ‘It’s Your Funeral?’ After all at
the time of the above article in The Tally Ho, the “enemies within” were
unknown, only suspected. Yet by the time of ‘It’s Your Funeral’ a list of
“malcontents” had been drawn up, and Number 6 was top of that list. So it had
been decided to take action against those unmutuals, the troublemakers, rumourmongers,
and trouble makers. In other words not just give a short sharp shock to the
community, but to purge itself at the same time. Would such a purge of its
malcontents have included Number6? It should have done, had it taken place.

But its not only the conspirators who need
to look out, its those who look the other way, and not report their suspicions,
as they themselves would be treated as traitors! This of course would include
people like Number 112 the shopkeeper of the General Stores, and the waiter at
the café.

The only trouble is, Number 2 is initiating
a witch-hunt. “It is the duty of each one of us to fight this menace and those
who know more than they tell are high on the list of guilty ones. No mercy will
be shown to anyone who shirks his duty to report his neighbour’s secrets.” He
expects neighbour to report neighbour as with the McCarthy Communist witch-hunt
of the 1950’s, when anyone and everyone could become suspected of being a
Communist.

And yet the word “security” rings richly in
our ears today. Everyone must be vigilant against the conspirators who endanger
our community. The only word Number 2 doesn’t use is “Terrorism!”

Monday, 28 September 2015

Number 6 said the maids come and they go.
First trying to extract certain information from him, while the maid at night
makes him his nightcap of hot cocoa in order to help him sleep. Number 58
brings Number 6 his breakfast one morning, as does Number 54 in the picture
above. In ‘Dance of The Dead’ the night time maid Number 21 makes his nightcap
and tells him that it’s good for him. After ‘Dance of The Dead’ it’s Number 8
in ‘Checkmate’ who makes Number 6 his nightcap of hot chocolate. Mind you
Number 8 is not the only woman to wait on Number 6, another Number 8 {Nadia}
boiled Number 2 two eggs one morning, I wonder where Number 6’s personal maid
was that time? So the maids come and they go, in fact Number 54 is the last
ever personal maid we see to grace Number 6’s cottage. The first flicked a
yellow duster about the place, the last a feather duster. Perhaps having a
personal maid was a privilege, a privilege eventually to be taken away from our
friend Number 6. Then he would have to make his own bed, do his own housework,
wash and clean for himself. Make his own breakfast, when he’d no-one else to do
it for him. And do his own laundry. But somehow I don’t see Number 6 as the
domestic type, do you?

There is a general falling out between
former friends, while Number 6 falls out with almost anyone. As for Number 48,
he was with them {presumably once as Number 8} but then he went and gone.
Number 8 died by committing suicide, perhaps they were able to resuscitate him,
and like Number 2 he turned on, and bit the hands that feeds, in other words he
saw the light!

Fallout is associated with nuclear
destruction, which is supposed to be what happened to The Village. There was no
nuclear explosion, The Village may have been evacuated, but it was left whole
and intact. But the episode does show the consequences of fall out, four escapees,
and a whole Village of people on their hands who they do not know what to do
with. Well why not simply put them all back in The Village!

First boy “Yeah, Rawson was selling Naval
secrets.”“Rawson was killed.”“So Drake moved into his mews house.”“I like that car.”“I’m going to have one just like it.”“So am I.”First Boy “I’m not!”“Why not?”“I don’t want the same car as you
two!”Second Boy “Do you think that they want
any best boys?”Third Boy “They might want a best
boy!”First Boy “Well if they do they’d pick
me.”“Why you?”“Because I’m the best boy here!”“No you’re not, I am.”Second Boy “Well I’m better than both
of you!”David Tombiln “Oi! If you boys can’t
be quiet, I’ll send you all home.”Second Boy “Now see what you’ve gone
and done.”

First Boy “Well I didn’t do it.”Neither did I!”

Second Boy “Well who is this Prisoner bloke
anyway?”“Patrick McGoohan of course, any idiot
can see that.”“He’s John Drake!”“I like John Drake, he’s my hero.”“What about all those gadgets he
uses?”“They’re not real.”“I bet you they are!”“I betcha they’re not!”Third Boy “Here, what’s them
Undertakers doing over there?”“Waiting for someone to die!”“First Boy “Ask him.”“Ask who what?”“Ask Pat for his autograph.”“Not me.”“Nor me.”First boy “Excuse me Mister McGoohan,
can I have your autograph?”“Wow, I don’t believe you did that!”“Neither do I. What’s it say?”“For Lotus thanks, signed Patrick
McGoohan.”“Your name’s not Lotus!”“No, but I got his autograph!”Third Boy “Come on, let’s go and play
DangerMan.”

“Yeah, and this time I’m DangerMan.”“No you’re not, I am, you can both be
the villains who Drake’s got to get the secret papers from.”

“What secret papers?”

“The plans for a secret German rocket,
that’s going to destroy London.”“What all of it?”“Well of course all of it. You
wouldn’t have only part of a rocket destroy London!”“Well I bags being the
rocket………..woooosssh!”

Sunday, 27 September 2015

This is Helen {left} but in The
Village she is known as M2, Two’s wife. She is only ever seen out and about in
The Village once, and that was only to spend more time with her son, who she
never knew, who she never even gave physical birth to. Her son 11-12 was but a
figment of her own imagination! In other words she thought him up in her
subconscious, but he didn’t turn out the way she thought. He ended up a
homosexual, who murdered both his lover 909 and his mother!
But in the end Helen became free of the Village, which Two
handed over to Six and 313 {right}. But is it my imagination, isn’t there a
resemblance between Helen and 313?

The hair is both of the same colouring, and the facial
features are similar. 313 is thinner in the face that’s all. It’s just a pity
that Sarah isn’t like Helen, because its not 313 who is to dream the next Village,
its Sarah. And Sarah isn’t like Helen at all, especially where it counts, in
the mind, being psychologically disturbed since she was abused as a girl. Now,
you wouldn’t want Sarah conjuring up The Village for people to live in her
subconscious….would you?

Having resigned his
job, by handing in his letter of resignation to a balding, bespectacled man sat
behind a desk, the Prisoner then drives back to his London home, shadowed by two Undertakers in a
black hearse.
Having arrived home, that being No.1 Buckingham Place,
Westminster, London, the Prisoner then collects two ready packed suitcases. In
one he packs a couple of magazines, reading material for the journey. Then
collects his passport and airline ticket to Europe. Well there's nothing much wrong with
that, save for the fact that this was no spur of the moment thing. The Prisoner
had thought about resigning, and was prepared to make a quick get-a-way! Hence
the two ready packed suitcases. But where was the Prisoner going in such a
hurry, and why? Perhaps he was going to Ireland, oh no, a bit too cold that time of
year. Paris perhaps? Well he was heading to Europe, and the Prisoner did attend Madame
Engadine's celebrated parties in Paris. And in the episode of ‘A B & C’Engadine did ask the Prisoner what he was going
to do with his new life.
But this is quite incidental, because the Prisoner had left
it all too late. 'They' came for him before he was expecting them! Oh yes, he was
expecting them. Hence the Prisoner's haste to get away, to escape, before
they came for him. But why were they coming for him? Why did the Prisoner feel
the need to get away, when all he had to do was go home, have a drink, put his
feet up, and think about what he was going to do for the rest of his life. Why
not simply go on holiday somewhere? Perhaps that was it. Perhaps the Prisoner
was simply in a hurry to catch his plane.
The Prisoner may have been expecting them, but I bet he
never thought they would come in the form of two Undertakers! Not that the
Prisoner actually saw them, the two undertakers and the black hearse parked
outside in the street. The Undertakers gained entry to the Prisoner's house
with the aid of a key. Pumped nerve gas into the study through the keyhole of
the study door, using a gas gun, of the type seen in both episodes of ‘The Schizoid Man,’ and ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.’
Then a coffin was brought in, and the body of the unconscious Prisoner was
placed inside, and the coffin lid replaced. The coffin was then carried from
the house and placed in the back of the hearse. Picture the scene if you will,
as the two undertakers carried the coffin from the house of No1 Buckingham Place, across the pavement, and placed it in
the back of the hearse. It's an everyday occurrence, the Undertakers collecting
a coffin from someone's home, to take the deceased away to a funeral. Its
not the case that this would go unnoticed, but people tend to look away
respectfully and not appear to stare. A passing gentleman might pause, and
remove his hat in respect for the dead person lying there in the coffin. But in
this case, and how many cases like it, the coffin actually containing the body
of a man, or woman, being abducted from his home, by two agents, their origin
quite unknown!

Everyone is
in The Village for one reason or another. Number 53-the Rook for example,
developed an electronic defence system, but he had the treasonable thought that
all nations should have it, as he thought it would have ensured World peace. So
they put him in The Village to prevent his possible defection to the other
side. But the only thing was they lost the plans anyway, some petty bungling
bureaucrat let his bag get swiped! 53 appeared pleased about that, so
treasonable thoughts brought him to The Village.
People like Cobb, Dutton, Chambers, and Number 6 are in The
Village in order to have information extracted from them, and it’s only a
question of time before they give it, or have it forcefully removed! And yet
there are a large number of citizens who you wonder about. What possible reason
could have seen them brought to The Village? Like Number 8 of ‘Checkmate’ and
the couple who greeted the Prisoner on the day of his arrival, they didn’t
settle for ages, now they wouldn’t leave for the World. Or Alison, and then
there is Monique and her father the watchmaker. Did he go to The Village of his
own volition, to work as a watchmaker? Just as others, like The Professor and
Madam Professor apparently went there of their own free will. And yet both the
Professor and the watchmaker had something in common, they had both become
disillusioned! What’s more in the end Madam Professor remained in The Village a
widow, perhaps the watchmaker was already a widower, seeing as there is his
daughter Monique, but never a mention of wife or mother!

Saturday, 26 September 2015

The first person
to come face to face with himself, was Number 2, and it damned near broke the
man. Well it would, not only to come face to face with his other self, but to
discover that he was in fact ‘C.‘ However he rallied and began to speak
to himself, as he came to realise that his other self was the only person that
could help him. Because he had been given a white envelope by the Prisoner, and
Number 2 desperately urged his other self to open the envelope. And yet it was
to no avail. Number 2’s other self had been guilty of the same problem Number 2
suffered from, he underestimated Number 6! Number 6 was next
to come face to face with himself, in the guise of Curtis. Where Cutis came
from we simply do not know, but we do know that he and Number 2 had once worked
together. After all on the taxi ride to the helicopter Number 2 told Curtis
{Number 6} that he had never seen him so strung up. Number 6 again comes face
to face with himself funnily enough in ‘The General,’ when he’s uncovering those
busts in the Professor’s house. The bust probably sculpted by Madam Professor
from photographs of the subject. I couldn’t see Number 6 “sitting” to have his
bust sculpted. He then came face to face with himself in the cloakroom in ‘Fall
Out,’ that full-size effigy of himself wearing his own suit of clothes. And
finally there is Number 1. The Prisoner’s self? His id against his self?
Curtis? Or simply another look-a-like, Number 6 treats Number 1 the same as he
does Curtis in ‘The Schizoid Man.’ Well he would have, had he been able to lay
hands on the man. But to do that would have been rather repetitive. And so in
the best tradition of villains and bad men, Number 1 suddenly has this
compunction to climb up a ladder, to gain the high ground. And yet in doing
that he has sealed his own fate. Or rather Number 6 sealed his own fate when he
sealed that hatch. One would think, judging by the way he treats Curtis and
Number 1, that Number 6 doesn’t like
himself that much!

Village
Advocate “You know you’ve only got yourself to blame for this.”
The Prisoner “How do you make that out?”
“Well you’re obviously your own worst enemy.”
“That could be said of all of us!”
“We’re not discussing everyone here, only you! All you had
to do was answer one simple question, and it would have been all over and done
with.”
“Betcha it wouldn’t.”
“No, probably not. You could have gone far in The Village,
if only you had been with us!”
“I don’t join clubs, or societies. I’m not the Masonic
type.”
“No, you are a man of steel. You have resisted, held fast,
fought, maintained, destroyed coercion. You have, it seems, vindicated the
right of the individual to be individual.”
“Thanks very much.”
“No you haven’t. You have been as stubborn as anyone can
get. You have refused to accept. You’ve put yourself above others, and
especially above the rules. You have refused to give any information.”
“I gave the time of my birth.”
“Yes, but we knew that anyway!”
“Then why bother asking in the first place?”
“Because it was a ploy!”
“I knew that.”
“You do, you know everything.”
“I do?”
“We have you to thank for this predicament. For The Village
and our incarceration in it. You are many things, a man of principle, a moral
man, yet you are so, so arrogant. And it is your arrogance that has brought us
here to this moment in time.”
“So what happens now?”
“People will praise you. They will idolise you, worship you,
and probably hate you even more.”
“Why?”
“Because you will have made prisoners of them by now.”
“Prisoners?”
“Prisoners, what think you of that?”
“Everyone has a choice.”
“I expect so. And yet you, through your creation, will be
seen as some piped piper.”
“Wasn’t he involved with rats?”
“Children.”
“No rats.”
“And then it was children. Because children will become
prisoners of your creation. What have you to say about that?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
“There you are, another demonstration of this man’s
arrogance.”
“Well there are two sides to every coin. Now perhaps you are
ready to meet Number One.”
“Yes.”
{A white robed figure steps forward holding something in his
hands. He hands it to the Prisoner}
“What’s this?”
“A mirror. It has been a friend of yours on occasion. It has
revealed on no less than two occasions the truth. So look deep into the mirror
you now hold. Who do you see?”
“Me, I see me.”
“No, you see the man responsible for all that has taken
place. The man responsible for all that has happened to you. You see yourself!”
“That’s not possible.”
“Who else could Number One have been? Your own arrogance
made you Number One.”
“Well I worked damned hard for it. No-one worked harder than
me.”
“But you resigned!”
“Well there wasn’t anyone else who would fit the role. Who
else could Number One have been?
“In this particular instance……………………only you.”

It may be
wondered what it was that made each subsequent Number 2 go to The Village in
the first place? What was the motivation? What was said to persuade each one to
go in the first place, let alone to go back a second time. Perhaps it was a
desire to serve. On the other hand they may have been given no choice in the
matter. In any case each Number 2 is different from each other.
One or two are charming, ones almost statesman like, while
another is a good administrator. Interrogators yes. Persuasive yes, cunning,
devious, and calculating. Whilst some would see Number 6 broken, others see
Number 6 as being too important to be reduced to a man of fragments, because
Number 6 has a future with The Village. And so other ways must be employed, and
if necessary Number 6 must be persuaded. If Number 6 would answer just one
simple question then all the rest would follow, and they would have him within
their power.
But Number 6 isn’t like the others, he’s not a sheep, he’s a goat,
and goats cause trouble, Number 6 is a damned troublemaker! But even so he has
to be handled very differently, seeing as how important it is. And in regard to
handling Number 6 differently to the others, it would be an interesting
experiment to know how different Number 2’s would have handled other Number 2’s
assignments. Mix them up a bit, after all which of the Number 2’s would have
had the mental strength to be locked in room in a one on one situation with
Number 6? As it is I think the best Number 2 was chosen for that particular
assignment, the former Number 2 of ‘The Chimes of Big Ben.’ Because as well as
the doctor patient scenario, the warder and prisoner aspect, there’s the
rapport between the two men to take into consideration. Although that could
have been a weakness. As for the educational experiment of speed learn, any of
the Number 2’s could have overseen that. Well up until the moment Number 6
involved himself in the equation. Then the situation would have got tricky for
any Number 2. The trick being not to underestimate Number 6. Too many Number
2’s were guilty of that. Several just getting away with it, like Number 2 in
the episode of ‘The Schizoid Man.’ The only ace in the hole for him was the
fact that Number 6 couldn’t possibly have known that Susan died a year ago!
On the whole Number 2 appeared comfortable in The Village,
although perhaps not quite at home. One even returned to The Village in order
to retire, perhaps because he had carried out so much work for The Village and
the community, that for him The Village had become home. And for all we know,
he may well have spent his time on leave in The Village! Certainly another who
had become as a weak link in the chain of command in having completely snapped,
may well have spent the rest of his time on the psychiatric ward of the
hospital. It takes a special kind of man not only to deal with the rigours of
command, to be involved with Number 1’s machinations against Number 6, but to
also come to terms with The Village as a whole. Which for most they did, and
coming unstuck when the unknown quantity became involved, that of Number 6!

It will
soon be time to watch THEPRIS6NER once again. It seems a long time since
April when I celebrated the 5th anniversary of the series premier here in Britain by watching the series then. After watching,
I’m still left wanting more Village. I suppose it’s because each of the six
episodes isn’t an hour in length, they’re not even fifty minutes in duration,
the finale ‘Checkmate’ isn’t even 45 minutes in duration! But then as I’ve said
before about THEPRIS6NER more is less.
At least unlike the original, this series isn’t quite the vicious
circle. Yes Michael is still a prisoner, but one who can make his own prison. A
better Village, moral Village, with freedom in the prison. What’s more it’s
still going to be in the desert. But which desert? Is the desert as unreal as
The Village, that it’s only a figment of the imagination. Close your eyes and
The Village is all about you, open them and it’s gone. If only it were that
easy.
The only way to make a better Village is if the constructor has no
mental problems, has a clear conscience, with no hang-ups. A healthy body and a
clean mind are the foundations upon which Michael Six might begin to build his
better Village. But if the tools he uses are in anyway disturbed, well the road
to hell is littered with good intentions.Be seeing you

Friday, 25 September 2015

What is it Number
6 wants? What we all want ultimately….to escape! Well here’s an out-going
Number 2, escaping the confines of The Village, and the finality of old age. No
living in quiet retirement in the Old People’s Home for him. What’s more he’s
piloting the helicopter himself {as Number 6 did in ‘Arrival’} no doubt to the
landing stage. Where’s the regular pilot? Perhaps this way he’s preventing the
possibility of the regular pilot from being ordered back to The Village. What’s
more he’s probably been able to disable the remote control unit. But before he could
reach this stage of his escape, he would need an ElectroPass to synchronise with the alarm system,
which he could have taken from Number 6’s cottage!

There is a great
deal going on in the scene as the Prisoner approaches the Piazza. A chap comes
along to collect the Penny Farthing, Citizens parade around the pool and
fountain, two men are fighting in the water, while the ex-Admiral floats his
plastic boat into the water.
A couple pass by and greet the Prisoner, well it is a
beautiful day. The old couple didn’t settle for ages, now they wouldn’t leave
for the World. Number 2 tells Number 6 that from the balcony
of the Gloriette.
Again in the pool there is a man sitting in a dingy, I’m not sure
if there’s enough water for him to actually row that craft about the pool.
There is a sign “FreeSea,” I’ve never really known the meaning
behind that sign.
People are parading around the piazza, some with open umbrellas,
although its not raining, so acting as parasols for protection against the sun.
Senior citizens being pushed about in wheelchairs, another riding a tricycle,
three Mini-Mokes are driven around the Piazza, the drivers not looking for a
fare, but seem there to make up the parade. Suddenly Number 2 gives the
order to wait, then be still, and everyone stands stock till, as everything
comes to a stop. And then the Guardian puts in an appearance, balanced upon the
water spout of the fountain. The Prisoner makes to move but finds himself
rooted to the spot. Then miraculously the white sphere then moves to the top of
the Gloriette, and it’s grown hugely in size, and then even the water spout
stops! A young man in sun glasses and a striped jersey begins to dash about in
no certain direction. The young man, who hasn’t gone anywhere, but he still
appears to be dodging about without really dodging about if you get my meaning.
Number 2 tells him to come back, but he hasn’t run away yet! And then there’s a
blood curdling roar emitting from the white membranic sphere, and it comes
down, floating in the air towards the uncertain young man. The thing is quickly
upon its prey, smothering the man’s face with its membrane and suffocating him
into either unconsciousness or to death. And then the Guardian is gone, moving
off quickly down the steps of the Piazza and across the lawn. The Prisoner asks
“What was that?” To which Number 2’s reply comes “That would be telling!”There is a comparison to be made here,
between the young man who for some unapparent reason dodges about the Piazza,
and Number 14, the chess champion of ‘Checkmate.’ The fact that when there’s a
Guardian about and everyone is standing still, they are able to move about
quite freely.

“You didn’t
sleep here last night!”“I thought I’d save you the trouble
of making up the bed. Where’s the fancy costume?”“They’ve given me a new dress,
something special tonight.”“And the cat?”“Gone. I didn’t make it.”
“Everyone seems to be having a good time outside.”
{The maid-Number 56 and Number 6 Dance of The Dead}Through the conversation Number 6 is
manipulating his right arm. Perhaps he slept on it in the night. Not very comfortable
sleeping on the beach. And yet for a prisoner, Number 6 has a reasonably easy
life, he doesn’t have to make his own breakfast, but that’s the same for many a
prisoner. However they do have to make their own beds. But not our Number 6,
he’s got personal maids for that. Well until the privilege of said personal
maid is taken away from him. Then not only does he have to make his own bed,
but also his own breakfast, except when Number 8 boils two eggs for him!
The maid-Number 54 seemed surprised that Number 6 hadn’t slept in
his cottage that night. Where did she imagine Number 6 had spent the night? In
some lady’s boudoir perhaps! And Number 6, where was everyone having a good
time outside? He was quick enough to catch onto the brainwashed expressions on
the faces of the members of the local Town Council that time. So why didn’t he
pick up on the blank expression on everyone’s face outside? To the well trained
eye all the citizens were doing was going through the motions, parading around
and waving their flags. No-one was cheering, smiling, or looking in anyway
joyous! Even at the Ball Number 2 had to tell the musicians to play, and the
people to dance. It was almost as though they were all being told what to do,
and when to do it because they didn’t know. But it didn’t take much to turn
docile imbeciles into a mob screaming for blood! Mind you it didn’t take long
for them to settle down again, to be led away by little Bo-Peep looking after
her sheep! Number 6 once described the people of The Village to Number 42 as
being sheep. So if the people of the Village are sheep, then Number 6 could be
described as a goat. Goats are trouble, and the citizens of The Village are
mostly law abiding people, so sometimes when a goat strays amongst them things
begin to happen, as they did after the Prisoner arrived in The Village!

Thursday, 24 September 2015

The
results are out! A poll was taken to find ITV’s greatest show to celebrate 60
years. That greatest show was voted ‘Auf Wiedersehen Pet, about a group of
Geordies from Newcastle, working on a building site in Germany. You might be surprised, as indeed I
was, that ‘the Prisoner’ came in fifth in the poll. I think this is the highest
rating the series has received in any poll taken about television series.

However this poll was taken out by the Radio
Times, nothing unusual in that I hear you say, well it is when you consider
that the Radio Times was originally for BBC radio, and then with the advent of
television the programme guide encompassed television as well. Then came ITV
and ITV had its own television guide call the TV Times. And for decades never
the Radio Times and TV Times should meet. What I mean is, it was a rule that the
two magazines never advertised each other’s television programmes, a rule which
has been broken in recent years. However, my first reaction to this poll of ITV’S
greatest television programmes, is that it was being undertaken by the Radio
Times, when it should have been the TV Times. After all it is 60 years of ITV
the poll was celebrating. What’s more why use a picture from ‘The Girl Who Was
Death?’ Yes it is from an episode of ‘the Prisoner,’ but it doesn’t optimise ‘the
Prisoner.’ Why didn’t they use a picture from ‘Arrival,’ Free For All,’ or ‘Checkmate?’

And finally, I know that there are a large
number of enthusiasts here in Britain who are wanting a screening of ‘the Prisoner’
on ITV in order to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, and what I am about to
write they will find harsh and will disagree with it. However if ITV couldn’t
commission its own magazine to conduct a poll of their greatest television
programmes, and is unable to celebrate itself with either an evening screening of
vintage television programmes, or even a short series, what chance does a
screening of ‘the Prisoner’ have? None that I can see!

“One squirt
you’re paralysed, two squirts you’re dead!” Who is Curtis trying to fool? Using
a nerve gas gun, in such a confined space. Surely if he pulled the trigger,
even just the once, the room would be filled with a cloud of nerve gas
resulting in his own paralysis as well as that of Number 6! Unless Curtis has been
injected, or has taken a pill, thus providing an automatic antidote, thereby
neutralising the effects of the nerve gas. The same could be said of the
Chauffeur who discharges his gas gun in the cellar of the Barber’s shop on ‘Do
Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.’ After all he’s not wearing a gas mask!

It is a surreal moment in ‘A B and C’ when Number 6
is seen entering the laboratory, in his dream, when Number 2 and his assistant
Number 14 are awake, yet caught up within an imaginary scene. Number Six says
to Number 2 “I forgot to give you this” holding out a white envelope. Number 2
is then reduced to yelling at himself on the screen “Open it you fool, open it”
in his desperation to know what the envelope contains. He thinks it’s something
the Prisoner had to sell, and then again it might have the Prisoner’s letter of
resignation. And yet in reality, if it’s possible for reality to dwell within a
dream, all the envelope contained were a number of holiday leaflets. So what he
told Engadine was true, he really was going on
holiday!

As it happens for me it’s the leaflet for Italy that somehow stands out. I suppose it
makes me think of the Italianate village of Portmeirion. A place that’s different, quiet, a
place where you can think!

Now that
shouldn’t have happened! Something has gone drastically wrong with Plan
Division Q! And during that ferocious fight between Number 6 and Number 100 who
was attempting to retrieve the situation, if by chance one of them had
inadvertently pressed the detonator…………well it would have been adieu Number 2!
In fact I would be surprised if it really mattered who was wearing that Great
Seal of office should it have been detonated. After all it was packed with
plastic explosive, the blast would have shattered the Great Seal, all those
pieces of metal flying about, everyone would have been injured, let alone killed
in the blast when the bomb went off!
But what could have been going through the new Number 2’s
mind when the official from administration placed the Great Seal of Office
about his head and shoulders, apart from the obvious that is! It’s no wonder he
wanted to get his speech over as quickly as possible. It has been asked why didn’t Number 6
take advantage of the situation and escape himself, seeing as he had the
detonator in his hands? Because there was no-one Number 6 could trust to stop
the new Number 2 from removing the Great Seal of office from about his
shoulders, unlike the out-going Number 2, Number 6 was there to impede the new Number 2 so that the out-going
Number 2 could get away.

On the day
of his arrival in The Village, Number 2 did manage to get the Prisoner to give
the time of his birth. But the Prisoner perhaps thought that to do so would do
no harm because in all probability they knew it anyway, seeing as they had a
complete file on his life. As for Number 2, he thought that once the Prisoner
had given one piece of information away, all the rest of that priceless
information inside his head would follow. It didn’t. So Number 2 arranged to take
the Prisoner to the Labour Exchange and an interview with the manager there.
Perhaps he thought that the Prisoner would volunteer some information by
filling in a questionnaire,details
of race, religion, hobbies, what he likes to read, what he likes to eat. What
he was, what he wants to be. Any family illnesses, any politics? But the
Manager was wasting his time, especially as it would seem that everything he
wants he can obtain from the Prisoner’s file which Number 2 leaves with him.
But the Manager appears to be more concerned about putting his tinker toy back
together, I hope there’s nothing symbolic in that!

Tuesday, 22 September 2015

It would appear that the Piazza has been
turned into one of those so called “shared spaces,” where traffic, cyclists and
pedestrians share the same space. It looks rather unsafe to me, in particular
for those people in wheelchairs. Look, there’s one chap in dark glasses and
striped jersey dodging about, trying to avoid the traffic. If he’s not very
much careful he’ll end up being run over! But thankfully this “shared space” is
well policed, and a Guardian quickly moves in to subdue the pedestrian as he
has not only become a danger to traffic, but also to himself!

Did ZM73 recognise the face in
the mirror staring back at him? Is that why he broke the mirror with his fist,
striking out against the face he saw, the Colonel’s! Well it’s always possible,
as ZM73 had known a good many Colonels in his time. At least two turned out to
have been working for The Village, another we’re not too sure about, and only
one, Colonel Hawke-English appears to have nothing to do with The Village. Well
at least not during ‘The Girl Who Was Death,’ which is more that could be said
of Potter!

Although the Colonel had been
sent to The Village by the highest authority, and that he’s gratified by that,
there is an anxiety about him, because he doesn’t know why he’s there. His
anxiety might be brought about by the fact that he has been in The Village
before, perhaps as a prisoner. Perhaps he still retained some unpleasant
memories, but who like Cobb was turned, persuaded to work under the umbrella of
The Village, and eventually released to return to his previous life, but as a
“Sleeper.” Meaning he remained inactive until The Village authorities came
calling!

During
their deliberations of ‘Once Upon A
Time,’ Number 2 role-playing as a High Court Judge and the Prisoner,
well as the Prisoner, he tells the Judge he was rebelling. That he was rebelling
against the figures, that in itself must have made living in The Village a
living nightmare for the Prisoner. A place where everyone is known only by
their number, it's no wonder Number 6 only wore his badge when it suited him!
But then how else are we to know the Prisoner, seeing as he refuses to give his
name.
And Decree Absolute, just how many times has the
psychological process been undertaken? How many prisoners previous to Number 6
have made it thus far? Has anyone at all made it this far as Number 6? Possibly
they have, because the first person in the Embryo Room is the Butler. Had he merely been briefed by Number
2, or had he been there before, aiding a previous Number 2? It seems unlikely
that any Number 2 would survive the psychological battle more than once, and as
we see, not even once! On the other hand Number 6 might well have been the
first prisoner to undergo Decree Absolute, what after all appears to be an
extreme measure. Because against him there was no other way!But rebelling against the figures, perhaps
Number 6 simply didn’t fancy working in a Bank for the rest of his life. And
perhaps those behind The Village were tormenting the Prisoner by putting him where
everyone is reduced and simplified by their number.

Monday, 21 September 2015

Here in Britain recently there has been a great deal of
talk and discussion about machines getting better than man. Machines one day beccoming self-aware,
suggesting that robots could do the work of men and women. Mind you with that
thinking the machines in The Village were pretty self-aware. After all in ‘It’s
Your Funeral’ when Number 8 twice programmed their machines for percental
appraisal of their own efficiencies, each time they refused to give the
information. This was done simply by not returning the data to Number 8. Number
2 suggested that the machines would want their own Trade Union next! But in any
case, the machines appear to take a leaf out of Number 6’s book, refusing to
give any information away!

“Questions are a burden to others, answers
a prison for oneself.” They are to those who have to keep asking the same
question over and over again, “Why did he resign?” Because after 48 years
Number 2 is still no closer to getting a complete answer than he was at the
beginning! And the Prisoner doesn’t really want to say why he resigned, for
fear of making a prison for himself. Because once he’s said the reason, then he
cannot take it back!

“A still tongue makes a happy life,” well
keep your mouth shut and you’ll be alright! No-one likes a fishwife going about
The Village shouting her mouth off!

“Humour is the very essence of a democratic
society,” Number 2 once said of Number 6 that he likes his sense of humour. And
Number 6 once said of him “You have a delicate sense of humour,” It might well
be imagined that a sense of humour would be needed in order to survive each day
confined in The Village. Only there are times when The Village seems void of
any such humour. Except when Number 6 said “I am not a number, I am a person,”
the electorate found that hilarious. I suppose the man with the greatest sense
of humour is Number 2 of ‘The Chimes of Bug Ben,’ ‘Once Upon A Time,’ and even
during his trial and confinement in an orbit tube in ‘Fall Out’ he never once
lost his sense of humour. He was always laughing at something or other. I know
that each Number 2 laughs during the opening sequence to ‘the Prisoner,’ only
that’s not because of anything humorous, but from something darker.

“Of the people, by the people, for the
people,’ Number 6 could see that phrase takes on a new meaning in The Village.
Although the use of this phrase in particular, demonstrates that The Village
administration isn’t slow at adopting such phrases from a Gettysburg address, for its own use and
interpretation. Except it’s pure propaganda, seeing as the people in The
Village have very little say in anything.

And the Prisoner, well he’s hardly in the
Labour Exchange for a job interview, only for an aptitude test and even that’s
manipulated, and to fill in a questionnaire for the files of the Labour
Exchange. But why is he appearing to be looking with suspicion at the seated
lady? In any case the assistant behind the counter looks at the Prisoner with
suspicion. What’s more that chap still has his job by the time of the election
of ‘Free For All, unlike some!

All about
you is yours, the High Court Judge told the former Number 6. Could they really
be serious? Could they really have trusted Number 6 to lead The Village? Surely
'they' made a mistake? I mean to say, look what happened when Number 6 was
elected as the new Number 2 in ‘Free For All.’ Number 6 hadn't been
in office five minutes before he was attempting to organise a mass breakout! He
had control. He was immobilising all electronic controls, and told the
villagers that they wee "Free, free to go." Of course Number 6 was
never actually in control, of either the village, or himself. However it did demonstrate
what Number 6 would do if given half a chance.
‘Fall Out’ has
a number of inconsistencies and logicalities, just like the previous sixteen
episodes which help make up the series. So what do they do? They bring back yet
another former Number 2 who has had direct dealings with Number 6, who
knew just what No.6 would be capable of. Then promote him to President, which I
thought was all rather theatrical. And after praising Number 6 as a man who
having revolted, fought, resisted, held fast, maintained, destroyed resistance.
Overcome coercion. Vindicating the right of the individual to be individual or
person. They applauded his private war, and finally they conceded that despite
materialistic efforts, the former Number 6 has survived intact and secure. And
after all that, all that remained was the recognition of a man, a man of steel
who is magnificently equipped to lead them. Well of course the High Court Judge
was correct, but really, could he have been serious about the offer of ultimate
power? Certainly Number 6 was given the opportunity to address the Delegates
of the Assembly. But given the chance to make a speech, the Delegates just
shout Number 6 down at every attempt as he tries to deliver his speech. 'They'
have no wish to allow Number 6 to make his speech. More than that, 'they' have
no desire to hear what Number 6 has to say. Will not permit him to be heard!
Both Number 48 and the 'late' Number 2 were allowed to plead their cases, then
why not Number 6? Simply because he was not on trial! Although it would seem
that the Delegates of the Assembly were not prepared to sit and listen to the
ravings of an egomaniac!
So why should 'they' elect such a man as Number 6 to lead
them? They knew what Number 6 was like. They knew what he would try and do if
he was given half a chance, and given that half a chance, he took it!
‘Fall Out’ was
the final manipulation of the Prisoner by the Administration behind The Village.
They faced Number 6 with himself, a final throw of the dice in order to try and
break him. If that was the case, then they failed. WhetherNumber 1 was the id to the Prisoner’s ego, or
even Curtis, whoever, Number 1turned out to be he was the unstable one. A
laughing maniac, who as soon as his identity was discovered, made for the
nearest exit from the Control Room in the rocket, this by climbing a steel
ladder into the nose cone. Have you noticed how villains who are being pursued,
have this uncontrollable urge to climb upwards in order to avoid capture. Then
of course the biggest mistake of all was made. Once Number 6 had confronted
Number 1, having sealed him up in the nose cone of the rocket, they left Number
6 to his own devices in the Control Room, where he set the countdown in motion.
Surely security should have been sent to the Control Room once the High Court
Judge thought that something was wrong. Then Number 6 could have been
overpowered, and what follows in the episode would have been avoided. The launching
of the rocket with Number 1 still aboard. The fire-fight and death of all the
security guards, and the ultimate escape of the Butler, Number 48, a “late”
Number 2, the former Number 6, and I suppose Number 1.
It is believed by many fans that The Village was destroyed
by the launching of the rocket, seeing the rocket as a missile with a nuclear
payload, hence the title ‘Fall Out.’
But in that lies the difficulty, the title of the episode is ‘Fall Out.’ If it had anything to do
with a nuclear element, then it would be one word Fallout. I don't think The Village was destroyed, there is no
evidence of The Village’s destruction. No blinding white light, great wind, or
fire and flame, only evacuation of the populace. There is no evidence to
suggest that the rocket is a nuclear missile. Don't forget that there were
three clear Perspex 'Orbit Tubes,' for sustaining human life during a long
space flight within the rocket. No, the title ‘Fall Out,’ two words, suggests nothing more then there having
been a falling out between old friends.

Sunday, 20 September 2015

Even though The Village helicopter, a French
Alouette, is fitted with floats, this is the only time we see the helicopter
having landed on the still water of the estuary at Portmeirion, during the
filming of the Prisonerthere
in September 1966. The film, from which this still is taken, of the Alouette
landing upon the water was filmed by an amateur film-maker either visiting, or staying
at Portmeirion at the time. And if it were not for amateur film makers, we
would not be privy to much of what took place during the filming of the Prisoner at that time. It is
interesting to note, that at no time during the series of ‘the Prisoner,’ does the helicopter
land on water at The Village, which is a pity. It would have been nice to see
the Alouette helicopter landing on the water to retrieve Number 6 from the
water in ‘Free For All’ after his encounter with the Guardian. Instead of him
being taken back to the shore by the three Guardians.

Number 2 completely loses it with Number 14
after asking what he was talking to Number 6 about outside the cafe. Of course
it was Number 6 who was doing the talking, in fact he spoke a lot of rubbish asking
14 if he slept well. Number 6 didn’t, he had a terrible night, {perhaps he
didn’t drink his drugged nightcap} he said he had insomnia, he couldn’t sleep,
so restless. And there’s no point lying in bed when you’re awake. So he got up,
went out {Obviously his cottage door wasn’t locked. Either that or they omitted
to lock the French window again!} He had a long walk on the beach, it’s
marvellous that time of day, invigorating. The air is brisk and clear, the rain
on your face, the wind on your cheek. But don’t look, the waiter’s watching
Number 14. It’s the only way, and Number 6 was so glad that Number 14 agreed
with him. Well Number 2 didn’t believe a word of it, not after the waiter had
reported that Number 14 had been whispering! Number 2 wanted to know what
Number 14 had been whispering about, why the waiter should say that he was.
Number 2 accused Number 14 of working with Number 6. And Number 2 thought
Number 14 was the one man he could trust {obviously not trusted enough in the
more important matters} and finally Number 2 accuses Number 14 of being a
traitor, and delivers a back-hander to 14’s face. Number 2 completely loses it,
shouting “Traitor, Traitor,” his hair falling forward as Number 2 leans over
his desk in his rage. Then as he stands up his hair falls back into place.
That’s because he has so much Brylcreem on his hair, thick like grease!

About Me

An enthusiast of the 1960's television series 'the Prisoner.' A writer, author, and considered an authority on the series.
'The Prisoner' captivated me from the moment of that clash of thunder in the opening sequence, and I have been a prisoner of 'the Prisoner' ever since.